Rena Bitter, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs. (Screenshot of US State Department footage.)
Rena Bitter, US Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs at the US Embassy in Beirut, issued a video statement today (Monday) calling on American citizens in Lebanon to develop a "crisis plan" if one develops.
Bitter advised that those who can leave while commercial planes are still running and local infrastructure and transportation is still intact should do so before a crisis begins. Those who are still in Lebanon if a crisis hits should be prepared to shelter in place for "long periods of time."
This suggests that US officials are at least considering the possibility that a general war or something close to it may develop in the near future in Lebanon.